#1's Reviews

#1’s is a hilariously ego-centric misnomer for Destiny’s Child’s greatest hits package. If they hadn’t already used the name for their previous album, Destiny Fulfilled would have been miles better. Or, even, just naming it Greatest Hits or The Best of. What we get are their four number one singles from the Hot 100, some that never charted that high, some new songs and lots of Beyoncé counting down the minutes until her eventual solo career breakout. (This MadTV sketch grew ever more relevant with each new single.)

Destiny’s Child also suffers from a distinct case of split-personality. They’re either empowered, independent women putting scrubs in their place, or they’re codependent to questionable men and demonstrating some unrealistic expectations and silly ideas. Which is it? And, while I find “Girl” to be a handful of clichés that grind against the nerves, at least there’s some sort of female bonding going on. 

They’re much more believable telling the guys to kick it to the curb or not to disrespect their brickhouse. “Bootylicious” features a sample from Stevie Nicks and an attitude that encourages people to embrace their curves and celebrate their inner-confidence. “Lose My Breath” is the sickest cheerleading chant posing as a song, and their zenith as far as singles go. While “Say My Name” should be added to the lexicon of teenage girl power anthems. 

It’s just a pity that the other girls were rarely, if ever, given a chance to showcase their impressive pipes. Kelly Rowland knows how to build a song, which “Feel the Same Way I Do” demonstrates time and time again until Beyoncé comes in. Any momentum that Kelly had built is automatically killed as Beyoncé over-sings like she’s trying to remind Kelly who the boss is. Yes, she is blessed with an impressive voice. Yes, she can sing. Yes, she can do a great vocal run, but she can’t restrain herself long enough to build a song.

The total obliteration that happens to “Emotion” is nearly unforgivable. At least Michelle Williams and Kelly knew when to rein it in and just deliver a solid vocal. Not every ballad needs to be vocal run showcase. The less said about the unbelievably awful “Stand Up for Love” the better, I don’t care how well intentioned it was. By the time of her solo career’s one-two punch of Beyoncé and Lemonade she learned when less was in fact more.

So, since they’ve broken up for all intents and purposes, the obvious question comes to mind during this set: are Destiny’s Child destined for girl-group greatness the way that TLC, for insance, were? I’m not entirely sure. They never made a great album from front to back like TLC did, and they won two Best R&B Album Grammys. Destiny’s Child had great singles, but great singles and lackluster albums worked for groups like the Shirelles and Diana Ross & the Supremes because they were engineered as singles artists.

Are they one of the greatest? I don’t know. This makes an argument for it, I’m just not sure if they’ll go down as one of the greatest. They were a lot of fun for a brief period of time. But in hindsight, they just seem like a group that was clearing space for Beyoncé’s eventual pop cultural takeover. 

DOWNLOAD: “Lose My Breath,” “Say My Name,” “Independent Women”